


The Seduction of Samantha Carter

by quercus



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-07-28
Updated: 2002-07-28
Packaged: 2017-10-05 02:12:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quercus/pseuds/quercus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam gets fucked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Seduction of Samantha Carter

Sam stared at the spinning stargate as she had hundreds of times before, entranced by its power and what she thought of as its sovereignty -- its freedom from external control. She and the other scientists who had labored so long to discover its secrets still were only guessing at many of its abilities. Daniel had opened the gate, but it still harbored its mysteries and she frankly doubted humans could understand it completely.

It was the most alien artifact she had ever seen, and she had seen many in her years in the SGC. She honored it, loved it, and hated it for refusing to share its power with her.

For Samantha Carter lusted after power: knowledge was power, that was frustrating in its triteness yet true, the truest thing she knew. And so she collected knowledge and thus power, yet the stargate remained beyond her grasp.

She glanced at Daniel, standing quietly beside her, watching the colonel as he so often did. How this soft-science academic had opened the gate she still didn't understand. Nothing came easily to Daniel but languages, and perhaps the gate was more language than technology. She pondered that as she stood there. The gate as knowledge. Or perhaps it was wisdom, for Daniel was the wisest man she knew.

She looked back at the gate as Sergeant Davis's voiced bounced off the walls: Chevron Seven encoded. And there it was, the wormhole opening to them as a woman opens to lovemaking, welcoming them, urging them forward. Daniel stepped up first; he was usually first, she'd noticed, with the colonel one step behind him. Teal'c waited for her, as he always did, nodding regally at her as she approached the undulating surface, which wasn't a surface at all, neither door nor window, nothing she could articulate.

It simply was.

And she stepped into it, sliding light-years away from earth in less than a heartbeat, an almost sexual thrill, and then nearly danced out onto this new and unknown world, treading lightly, feeling Teal'c emerge at her back, watching Daniel and the colonel stare around them.

How often had she done this? How long would she continue, before something stopped her -- funding would dry up, the gate itself would stop working, or she'd be killed. The colonel would take her body back to earth, of course, and her father and Mark would see she was properly interred. She should change her will, let them know she didn't want to be buried on earth. She wanted her remains to be sprinkled into the wormhole to flutter through the galaxy, eventually falling into a star. That's where all astrophysicists should end up: as starlight falling back into a star.

Teal'c led the way, on yet another mission to locate allies, technology, or mineral deposits. Neither the MALP nor the UAV had spotted anything looking like allies or technology, but the geologists were persuaded oil could be found here. Oil. She rolled her eyes but kept her thoughts to herself. Here they were, springing through the galaxy like gods, and they were seeking oil to burn in suburbanites' SUVs.

That particularly galled Daniel, she knew; another reason to remain quiet. He'd complained enough for three people in the various briefings. First contact, he'd kept saying. We're a first contact team; why can't one of the science teams go? And really, they all agreed with him, but orders were orders. She'd served in the military long enough not to expect her orders to make sense.

See them there, on that alien world: a bluish sun creeping near the horizon, the air tangy with strange scents, the soil greenish, with copper she guessed, and the bushes straggly and thorny, like denuded blackberry canes. Not a pretty world. No indication of sentient life, neither carvings nor pottery to capture Daniel's attention. No dangerous aliens to capture Teal'c's and the colonel's attention, and certainly nothing to capture her attention. Just four bored members of the SGC trudging through an extraterrestrial world, and not a particularly interesting one.

And see Sam there, her pale hair shoved under a cap, a P-90 strung over her shoulder, backpack bulging with supplies, clunky boots on her shapely feet, for Sam is vain about her feet. Looking around her curiously: what is she thinking?

In fact, she was thinking about getting laid. How long it had been. In school, she'd sublimated her desires, pouring her energies into studying, earning awards and scholarships the way some girls earned boyfriends and reputations. She was pretty, she knew, although too tall and her breasts weren't nearly large enough. She'd been interested in boys, and even a few girls, but they demanded far too much attention. So she remained with her books, alone in the evenings while her elder brother went out on dates. He got married and had children; she got to go to other worlds.

A fair exchange, she usually thought, although it had cost her her brother's affection. She thought that he thought that she thought she was better than he was; she thought he disdained her choices. And she did think she was better than he was, or at least, that her choices were better than his. After all, was she not here, on P4X-975, while he was in San Diego?

But that had been years ago and still she was alone. She'd had a fiance once, or so she called him. Her most serious boyfriend. What a joke that had turned out to be. But he was dead now; had he got what was coming to him? She tried not to think about it.

A few boyfriends since then, but none so serious. Then Jolinar had invaded her body and mind. Some days, she thought Jolinar had invaded her soul as well. She envied Jolinar, who had loved through centuries, with certainty and power, a growing chorus of love for Martouf. An amazing creature, Jolinar; experiencing feelings of that depth had forever shaken Sam. She didn't know if she could love, now that she knew what love could be.

Although there had been Narim. If someone had put a P-90 to her head and demanded she settle for someone, she would have chosen Narim. She didn't love him passionately, she didn't long for his body or his mind, but she genuinely liked and respected him, and some days that seemed more than enough. And he did love her. She knew that. His love and her knowledge of it gave her a strange power; it made her more beautiful to herself. When she walked beside Narim, she felt herself to be desirable in a way she'd never felt before. It wasn't what Jolinar had experienced, but it was good. It might even be good enough someday.

She'd taken a few lovers over the years, very discreetly. Someone to turn to on a cold night or after a mission gone wrong. But no one she could open her heart to. To Narim she could. He knew all her secrets.

She could desire Narim, she thought, as she walked under that blueish sun. She could do anything she wanted, and if she wanted herself to desire Narim, she would. And he loved her.

She sighed, and kicked one of the small green rocks in her way. "Are you unwell, Major Carter?" Teal'c asked her quietly.

"No, no," she reassured him. "I feel like Daniel though. I don't really understand why we're here."

"I agree. There are other worlds to explore that would be more in keeping with SG-1's mission."

She nodded, and they walked on companionably. Ahead of them, Daniel and the colonel bickered in friendly habit; she was so used to it that she barely heard them. Now there was a strange friendship. Initially, she'd envied Daniel his relationship with the colonel. That was a long time ago.

In the interim, she'd fallen a bit in love with her CO. Stupid thing to do; she was ashamed of herself now. O'Neill was clearly a father-figure, and her feelings for him had made her examine her relationship with her real father, who had so spectacularly re-entered her life after a long estrangement. Good god, that he should be a Tok'ra.

Yet that helped. Not only had Selmac saved his life, she had changed their relationship. Sometimes Sam even asked to speak to Selmac, to whom she could confess that which she could never tell her father. Selmac would find the right way to let Jacob know; she was the perfect intermediary for Jacob and Sam, better than Sam's real mother had been.

She'd even confessed to Selmac her feelings for the colonel, begging her not to tell her father. Selmac had strongly advised her to look elsewhere; wasn't her career important to her? And she'd been right, of course. That's why Sam had told her. She'd known the answer already, but hearing Selmac speak so gently to her, with her centuries of wisdom, made the decision somehow easier.

Sam couldn't really remember her mother; she had died too long ago, when Sam was too young, and Sam had been too angry with her father for too many years. All that anger and grief had clouded what little memory she'd had. Now she turned to Selmac for mothering, though not without irony. After all, the Goa'uld were, technically, genderless. Yet she'd proven to be the perfect complement to Sam and Jacob's tense dyad.

"Teal'c?" the colonel called. "How much farther?"

"Over the next rise."

"What a waste," Daniel said for the thousandth time. Sam glanced at Teal'c, who wore a tiny smile. She caught his eye and his smile broadened.

He loved Daniel, she knew. Well, who didn't? Kinsey, maybe. Makepeace, that jerk. But most people did. She did. He was her little brother, closer to her than her real brother Mark. In and out of each other's homes, leaving stuff behind, calling each other with news the other didn't really care about but listened to because they loved each other.

Why hadn't she fallen in love with Daniel? she wondered, and sighed. Because of Sha'uri, of course. That beautiful woman. Sha'uri hadn't been too tall, and her breasts were the right size. Daniel had loved her so deeply. Sam had met him a married man, and now that he was a widower and presumably available, it was too late. He was Daniel to her now, not a potential lover.

Not that they hadn't kissed. Chastely, as siblings, many times, of course, but twice something else had slipped into their relationship. It had been when she was half in love with the colonel; maybe she had been diverting her erotic attention from him to Daniel? Was that causality, or synchronicity? But she remembered one night in particular. He'd been recovering from some accident somewhere, a sprained ankle, she thought; she could remembering him hobbling down the hall into the living room where she'd sprawled watching a DVD and drinking red wine. A merlot, she remembered.

She'd looked up at him and realized yet again what a beautiful man he was. Those eyes, so blue, and his expressive eyebrows, and that luscious lower lip. When he'd finally seated himself next to her, she'd carefully set down her wine glass, put one hand on his thigh, leaned over, and kissed him.

For a moment, he'd frozen in place, and she felt him swallow. But she leaned into him a bit harder, lightly stroking his muscular leg, and suddenly his mouth had opened beneath hers. He'd tasted of merlot and coffee, and the lust that had shot through her body had frightened her. She'd leaned back, gasping, staring into his face. His lips had been damp and shiny in the reflected light of the movie playing, his pupils so dilated they'd nearly hidden the blue of his eyes.

Then he'd leaned toward her and kissed her cheek, so gently, so sweetly that tears had come to her eyes. "I love you," he'd said, and she knew then that nothing sexual would come between them to destroy their friendship. Their more than friendship. She'd turned away, embarrassed, but he'd pulled her to him, and they watched the movie like that.

One New Year's Eve they'd found themselves together at midnight, at some party, surrounded by SGC staff, balloons falling from the netted ceiling, sparklers lighting the darkened room, while bagpipes played Auld Lang Syne. He'd taken her in his arms and they'd kissed. Not just a polite kiss on the lips, but a deeply passionate kiss, and again she'd felt that spark of desire for more. By then, she'd met Jolinar, and she heard her voice in her mind, mourning Martouf and their lost years, their lost chances, and kissed Daniel harder, holding him closer, even as tears slipped from her eyes, blurring her makeup and making her gasp. He'd tucked her close to him, one hand on the back of her head, and whispered meaningless calming words to her amidst the applause and swelling music of another year without anyone in her bed.

She was resigned now. Daniel was not for her, not in that way. The colonel wasn't either. That humiliating exercise was behind her. Martouf -- she'd never been clear about her feelings for him, anyway; Jolinar kept getting in the way, confusing Sam. But Narim, now. Maybe Narim.

When they got home, she decided, she'd ask the general for permission to visit Tollana. Surely she could come up with a reason, although what it would be she couldn't imagine. And Narim would be happy, Narim would be grateful, and she'd be able to feel good about herself.

"This it?" the colonel called; he and Daniel had gotten a bit ahead of her and Teal'c.

"Yes, sir," she answered, and trotted toward them. The rise had revealed an enormous plain, flat as the proverbial pancake. As big as the Permian Basin in Texas, one of the geologists had told her, excitement broadcasting from him. They'd had to bring specialized tools, and all four of them had had to learn how to use them. Daniel was right, she thought yet again; they should've sent one of the science teams to do this, not the first contact team.

But they set to work, even Daniel quiet, absorbed in his tasks. First, polaroids and videos of the region, taken from the rise and then closer up. Then, surface samples, an easy task, and up the archaeologist's alley. Then they had to do some drilling with a special hand drill, and piece after piece had to be tediously fitted together as they worked the bit into the soil deeper and deeper. Cross-sections of the history of this planet: how many intervals of geologic time would they discover? And would the geologists measure this planet's history the same way they did earth's? Holocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, and on back? Or would they develop a different scale?

Well, that was their problem, not hers. Hers was to finish this task so they could go home. And then she would figure how to get permission to go to Tollana and learn what she could learn there, about herself and about her future.

"You are meditative today, Major Carter."

"Hmm," she answered without looking up. Teal'c laid his hand over hers, though, and she paused.

At last she raised her head to his. "I am? I mean, I guess I am." She stared at him, a little anxiously. "Is everything okay?"

After a moment, he released her hand. "Everything is, as you say, okay. However, when we return to the SGC, would you not sit kel-no-reem with me?"

"Teal'c, I appreciate the offer, but . . ." But what? She didn't have an answer. She didn't feel that sitting still was an answer.

"As you wish, Major Carter. But I would appreciate your company."

She studied his well-known face. Kind. She always thought of his face as kind, even when it was creased in disapproval at one of the colonel's ideas. He was worried about her, and she was thinking about getting laid. She felt herself blush.

"Of course," she said. "Thank you, Teal'c."

He nodded again, and handed her another link for the drill. It stood on a little tripod precariously balanced on the stony soil, and she took a minute to re-set the legs, grateful she could hide her blush from him. Daniel and the colonel were small figures on the horizon, doing their own drilling.

"Digging for apples, yer honor," Teal'c said, and she dropped the part to look up at him in surprise. "From _Alice in Wonderland_," he explained. She felt her mouth drop open; she'd never read _Alice_.

"Oh," she finally said, and went back to work.

When they returned that evening with the samples, after their obligatory visit to the infirmary to be sure they hadn't been infected with some alien bug that would destroy earth and all life on it, she remembered her promise to Teal'c. She stood in the hallway, already dressed in her civvies, and then decided to go home. They could sit kel-no-reem together tomorrow, or the next day.

Picture her now, back on earth, her hair flying in the breeze as she drives down the mountain and into Colorado Springs, to the suburban home she'd inherited from her father, stopping for non-fat milk and sourdough bread at an upscale market, strolling through the wine aisle, studying labels and selecting something as delicate and pale as she is. A bin of ripening mangoes attracts her. A very sexy fruit, she thinks, sniffing one before setting it carefully into her cart.

We'll leave Samantha there, in the upscale grocery store, her attention caught by an end rack of handmade bracelets, little chips of brightly-colored stone strung on woven black thread, ethnic, inexpensive, pretty. She'll buy one for her friend Cassie and one for herself, even though she doesn't often wear jewelry. Maybe for when she goes to Tollana.

Outside the market, it's late afternoon of an early spring day. A breeze has sprung up, rattling the empty carts lined up, scuffling paper and leaves through the parking lot. Beyond the market, back up the road, back into the bowels of Cheyenne Mountain, Teal'c sits in his quarters, wondering if Samantha will remember her promise and come to him. But Daniel knocks, not Sam, and with a moment's hesitation, Teal'c accepts his offer to take him to dinner. O'Neill is waiting outside, tossing a tennis ball in the air, his hair wild, his grin cocky, and he stands very close to Daniel Jackson, who smiles brilliantly at him and seizes the ball in mid-air, and they laugh. Teal'c smiles at his friends even as he wonders where Samantha is.

Narim, on Tollana, thinks of Samantha often. He has programmed his house computer to speak in her voice and has a stolen image of her, taken surreptitiously, that he uses as a screen saver on his personal computer. Omoc makes fun of him, but Narim doesn't mind. Omoc is a little jealous, and since Narim rarely causes anyone jealousy, he enjoys the situation.

Narim is a busy man, but he finds time to think of Samantha. He wishes he could come up with some reason to invite her to Tollana, especially by herself. But nothing occurs to him, and he's too shy to ask Omoc, who would use his request as more ammunition for teasing. Instead, Narim studies his personal computer, the blurred image of Samantha with her teammates in the background.

Others think of Sam, too -- her father, most notably, and even her estranged brother, who doesn't dislike her nearly as much as Sam believes he does. Some of the technicians in her lab do, too, even Sergeant Davis, the gate technician, not that she's looked twice at him.

But Samantha thinks she is alone. Her period is due to start, so she's feeling a bit blue, a bit pre-menstrual, and buys another bottle of ibuprofen before she pays for her groceries and heads home, the new bracelet on her wrist. She admires it as she turns the steering wheel of her car.

Another night alone. She could have spent it in kel-no-reem with Teal'c, or perhaps the two of them would have decided to join the colonel and Daniel for dinner. Instead, she left the mountain and her teammates, hoping to find company when she knows there is no company for her here. Instead, she goes home to her empty house decorated with quilts her mother made and photos of a family that is no more.

What is the author to do with Sam? Why did she chose to leave the Mountain? She could've bought groceries tomorrow; her car wasn't that low on gas. We'll leave her at home, alone, drinking white wine and eating ibuprofen, wondering what her friends are doing, trying to think of something to eat for dinner. She's too depressing to spend more time with.

Instead, let's look at Sam another time, a few weeks from now. Here she steps through the gate after Daniel, dirty and disheveled but still beautiful, her pretty smile flashing as brightly as the chevrons as they encode. Daniel apparently has been arguing with Jack right through the wormhole; he hasn't stopped talking since he stepped across the shimmering threshold and onto the ramp. Jack is rolling his eyes but his face is creased with amusement and pleasure, and the SFs stand down without orders from the general, for what could be wrong when Colonel O'Neill is smiling like that, and Doctor Jackson is talking his hind leg off?

Teal'c follows more slowly, emerging from the event horizon with his usual gravity; does anyone besides us notice how his eyes follow Sam as she follows Daniel and Jack? The general observes much; does he observe this? Hammond raises a hand and SG-1 slows to a stop. "Well?" he asks, and three of them look to Daniel, who smiles.

"No naquada, and I seriously doubt there's any weapons technology we can use, but they were wonderful people, General."

The general raises his eyebrows and looks to Jack, who shrugs. "A good time was had by all," is his cryptic comment, and the general waves them toward the infirmary.

And they did indeed have a good time. Sam is practically strolling behind her teammates on the way to the infirmary, and Teal'c follows appreciatively, watching her relaxed gait. They'd all had a bit to drink on P5X-999, the natives had insisted they participate in their ritual and Daniel had thought it a good idea. The alcohol had wound him up like a top, but relaxed Sam, and her relaxation had given her walk a sway that Teal'c found most attractive.

When they turned into the infirmary, Doctor Fraiser was waiting for them, smiling at their pink faces, shaking her head at their stories. Teal'c watches it all silently, attentively, pleased to be here with these people, these aliens with their alien ways. Nurses separate them, although Daniel continues to talk to Jack, shouting over the cubicle walls that separate them.

Sam flops onto the gurney, sending it scooting back into a rattling metal desk. She's tired, so tired, her arms feel too heavy to lift. What a mission that was. Daniel's pleasant tenor wafts over her as comforting as a blanket; she's fallen asleep listening to him talk to Jack, across the fire or in their tent, many, many nights. It's almost a trigger for her to fall asleep and she closes her eyes as if she were curled up in a tent with Teal'c on some off-world expedition.

She snores, a polite lady-like snore, but definitely a snore. She doesn't hear Daniel stop talking and then laugh. Teal'c hears all, and smiles to himself.

"What happened?" Fraiser demands of Jack, staring past him at Sam sprawled on the gurney.

"Ask Daniel."

"They were in the midst of a celebration, a wedding, I think. Or maybe not. Anyway, our arrival through the stargate was seen as a good omen, and they insisted we bless the ceremony, whatever it was, with our presence. And that we drink with them. So we did."

"I hope you brought some back as a sample, so I can see what you've ingested. And forget any plans about going home tonight; you're all spending the night right here, so I can keep an eye on you."

Daniel protests, Jack protests, Sam snores, and Teal'c watches. Fraiser overrules them all, puts Daniel in the same cubicle as Jack, and then jerks the curtains around Sam so she can undress her in privacy. Her teammates have seen her naked before, but on a mission, not on base. That would be different.

"Wake up, honey," she murmurs to Sam, pulling her boots off. "Just for a minute, okay?"

"Mmhmm," Sam sighs, and tries to roll on her side and nearly off the gurney.

"Christine!" Fraiser calls, and a nurse rushes in. Together they undress Sam and check her out, then dress her in white hospital gown and tuck her in bed. "Bring another blanket, would you? That smells like alcohol on her breath, and that'll depress her autonomic nervous system."

At last Fraiser emerges. Since Jack and Daniel have their heads together, arguing over some damn thing, she turns to Teal'c first, who waits so patiently. "Well?" she asks him. "Did you celebrate, too?"

"I did, indeed, Doctor Fraiser," he tells her. She performs the usual tests, and then, for her own curiosity, marks on his chart that he's to be tested for alcohol content in his blood. She wonders whether Jaffa metabolize alcohol differently than humans from earth do. Another medical paper she can never publish.

At last she returns to Jack and Daniel. Jack yawns enormously, and Daniel is rubbing his eyes. "A little tired, boys?" she asks as she takes Daniel's blood pressure. They're coming down off their high, whatever caused it, and will be able to sleep soon. "How long did you celebrate?"

"Um, two days? Two days and a night," Daniel tells her, frowning in memory.

"Non-stop," Jack adds. "Nobody went to bed, they just ate and drank and danced. It was a great party," he adds reflectively.

"Great party," Daniel agrees, and now he yawns, triggering another yawn in Jack, and Fraiser feels her own jaw twitch.

"When I'm finished, I want you both to lie down and get some rest. I'll check on you periodically."

"Can I get a shower and some clean clothes?" Daniel asks. She shakes her head, carefully drawing blood at the same time, and he sighs. "I hate those stupid dresses you make us wear in here."

"Not as much as I do. At least when your ass hangs out, the nurses enjoy it. I get nothing but grief," Jack instantly disagrees.

"Thank you. I think."

"Actually, Colonel, you have quite a nice ass, according to my nurses." She smiles up at him. "Especially Lieutenant Garcia." Since Raul Garcia is an enormous Latino who played football for Air Force, Jack stops looking smug and begins to look concerned, while Daniel laughs so hard he nearly falls onto Jack. "Daniel, get undressed, and use that bed. Colonel O'Neill, over there."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack grumbles, but he's so sleepy he stumbles when he jumps off the gurney. He'll sleep all right.

Sam sleeps on, dreaming of the ceremony they'd shared in. A beautiful place, P5X-999. The stargate had been right in the middle of the village, in the center of a large park circled by a broad avenue, and beyond it handsome buildings, every one important looking. They'd stood on the platform the gate had been mounted on and stared at the people around them. The images from the MALP hadn't shown anything like this -- the houses had looked empty, the streets deserted.

In another month, they would step through the gate again, onto another world, and find another celebration. Sam would smile when they did, remembering the last one.

Daniel would step forward and raise his hands, saying, "Hello! We are peaceful explorers from another world, come to learn about yours." The people stare at him, and then cheer wildly. He looks back at Jack, who shrugs but grips his P-90. On either side of him, Teal'c and Sam stare back at the applauding crowd, who surge toward them, carrying flowers and tossing confetti or something like it that sparkles in the sunshine.

"Another wedding?" Daniel speculates as they're being carried along by the cheering crowd. "A holy day? Christmas?" Jack laughs, getting high on the high spirits around them, enjoying the laughter and songs. Someone passes him a leather bag and mimes drinking from it. "Whoa!" he gasps, and hands it to Carter, who swallows and coughs and swallows again.

"Oh, Daniel, it's delicious!" she cries as the heat rushes through her body. She feels alive, so alive, and begins to dance to music the drums and flutes make, circling her teammates madly, knowing she's drugged or drunk or both, but it feels so very good. The colonel grins, and Daniel dances, too, bumping into O'Neill, so they both burst out laughing. Daniel takes the colonel in his arms and begins to tango, tangling their feet as they spin and stalk along. Carter knows she'll never see that again, and follows clapping her hands, singing words she doesn't know. Behind her, she feels the solid presence of Teal'c and is comforted. Teal'c will watch her six. She laughs, and wiggles her six, twisting back to see the effect on Teal'c; to her pleasure he has to raise his eyes to meet hers, and she swears that in the brilliant sunlight he flushes. She wiggles again, smiling as seductively as she knows how, and dances on, hurrying to catch up to O'Neill and Daniel, still dancing, now back-to-back, their arms interlocked.

"Oh, god, we're fucked," she shouts, but no one hears or no one cares or no one understands, it doesn't matter, once again she's dancing with her friends on a beautiful world in a beautiful ceremony and whatever happens next would be fine.

A couple dances up to her and takes her in their arms, the creamy filling to their sandwich, and begins to kiss her neck and face as they dart along. She drops her head back, and the woman kisses her throat while the man bends to kiss her breasts through the ugly BDUs. Sam pulls anxiously at the buttons, and unhooks her bra so he can kiss and suck her nipples. It feel so good, she thinks again; she can't remember the last time someone had held her so tenderly. She discovers she is lying on her back in a pile of velvety leaves, sunlight trembling through the branches above them. The man -- the same man? she doesn't know -- kisses her belly, rubbing her thighs, and she longs to kick off the stupid trousers binding her. The woman licks her ear and lightly bites her earlobe; Sam reaches up and pulls her down to kiss her mouth, sweet with the liquor she'd drunk earlier. Fuck, everything feels good, every touch, every lick, every kiss. She touches the woman's breasts through her gauzy blue blouse, and then slips her hand up the floating skirt, stroking her thighs and then fitting her hand over the woman's warm vulva. She groans and spreads her legs for Sam, straddling her. Sam closes her eyes and opens her mouth, and thinks: I am drinking honey.

Secrets, she thinks, now I have secrets. The woman moves away and gazes down at her thoughtfully. "What's your name?" Sam asks, but of course, she doesn't understand. "Sam," she says, pointing at herself, but the woman simply bends down and takes Sam's breast into her mouth and Sam forgets all about language lessons.

Where did that nice man go? she wonders briefly, and then the woman puts her hand between Sam's legs and she decides she doesn't really care where he's gone, as long as this person is taking such good care of her. She is so filled with desire she aches, and spreads her legs, trying to unbutton her trousers at the same time. The woman laughs and tries to help her, but Sam pulls her back up and begins kissing her again, sucking on her tongue, kissing her face and throat. The woman slips her hand under Sam's trousers and into her sensible cotton panties and then her fingers stroke Sam, teasing her, and she cries out, shivering, and puts her own hand over the woman's, demanding more.

I shouldn't do this on a mission, she thinks as she rolls on top of the woman, pushing into her pelvis, and then sees Daniel has backed the colonel against a vine-covered tree not far from her and is kissing him passionately, his hand in O'Neill's trousers, and O'Neill's hand, she realizes, is in Daniel's. They shove against each other roughly and she hears O'Neill moan and bash the back of his head against the tree trunk. "Oh, Jack," Daniel says, reaching up to comfort him, but O'Neill catches his hand and puts Daniel's fingers in his mouth, sucking them lasciviously. Then Sam's attention is caught again by the woman beneath her crying out in orgasm and she forgets about her teammates entirely.

How long she struggled there in the arms of the stranger she doesn't know, nor how often she came. She dozed, and kissed, and fucked, and dozed again, drinking the delicious liquor, eating tiny delicacies brought her by various people in various stages of undress. Another man appeared and knelt behind her, his engorged penis pressing against her ass while his big fingers pushed into her vagina, and she came at the thought of what he was suggesting, twisting back to kiss him, his throat and chest and finally his penis.

Night fell, and lights gleamed from the branches of the orchard they celebrated in. Musicians came and went; one flute player sat next to her, naked, his penis bouncing in time with his music, and then his talented mouth was on her and she was the instrument he played.

She saw Daniel and the colonel once more, the second day, she thought; they were as nude as she was now, and Daniel was cradling the colonel's head in his hands, staring into his face before they began to kiss again, falling to their knees in a way that even in her strange stupor she knew had to hurt, but they didn't notice. They were beautiful men, she thought, and then was rolled onto her stomach by someone who began to lick down her spine to her ass and she cried out in bewildered pleasure.

Three days and two nights, they later calculated, they'd lost to the ceremony. Daniel was shy, the colonel defiant, Teal'c non-committal, and Sam exhausted when the party finally moved on, leaving them naked, covered in spit and come and alcohol and shattered, crunchy leaves.

Teal'c recovers first, and tenderly helps her dress. Her uniform is gone, of course, but he finds a voluminous gown, obviously for a much larger person, and unmatching sandals. He wears a long tunic but nothing else; only Teal'c could look dignified in a mini-dress, she thinks. Daniel finds his trousers, and O'Neill his boots and a robe that ties in front. They look like homeless people, or members of some weird cult.

No one speaks. They climb wearily to their feet, brush off the most offensive detritus, and begin the walk back to the stargate. It turns out not to be very far; dancing is not, Sam reflects, a particularly efficient mode of transportation.

"Janet's going to kill us," Sam moans when they finally stand before the DHD. Daniel's hand hesitates, but he punches in the glyphs for earth and the stargate opens as if nothing untoward had happened.

"Helluva report this is gonna be to write," Jack murmurs to him as they walked up the ramp, and Sam has to agree.

Janet was, indeed, furious, and Hammond not much less so. Sam knew it stemmed from their fear that they'd been injured or infected, but she was too tired to care. She hadn't had that much sex in the last three years combined, and every orifice ached, including her ears and asshole. Janet stared at her in disbelief when she confessed that.

Oh god, she thought, when she finally was permitted to shower and wash her filthy hair. Wait till Dad hears about this.

At least the colonel hadn't fucked her. She was pretty sure.

Hammond stood SG-1 down for a week and ordered them off base for the entire time, and Teal'c home to Chulak to meet with Master Bra'tac. What punishment will he be given? Sam wondered as she drove home, still a bit uncomfortable. She almost wished the general had assigned them some punishment. Scrubbing toilets with toothbrushes. A dock in pay. Something.

But he hadn't. He'd simply been disappointed and a little embarrassed. "Wait till the Joint Chiefs of Staff read these reports," was all he'd said, echoing the colonel, and every member of SG-1 had turned red at the thought, even Teal'c.

Home yet again. Tossing out the spoiled non-fat milk and the blue sourdough bread, finding the little bracelet she'd never given to Cassie. "Fuck," she mutters, and collapses onto her bed, her big and lonely bed. Everything hurts, even her head, yet she's still horny, and masturbates herself to sleep, remembering the woman and Narim and the colonel and Daniel and other lovers, real and imaginary.

A week of this, she thinks when she wakes in the night to pee. How will I survive a week of this?

So the next day she dresses carefully, using a little make up to hide the marks on her throat, and waits to see General Hammond. He is punishing her a bit by making her wait, she knows, but accepts it without protest. He's a busy man; she doesn't have an appointment; she's on his shit list right now.

At last, his assistant calls her into his office and she stands at attention. He fusses with paperwork for a while, making it clear that he considers her less important that his other work, but at last raises his head to study her. "Major Carter?"

"Sir," she snaps a salute. "Thank you, sir, for seeing me on short notice."

"Major," he warns.

"Yes, sir. Sir, I was wondering --" but what the hell is Sam wondering? She stares at her commanding officer and stumbles over the words. "Do you think, sir, that it would be, um, possible for me to visit Tollana? For the week I'm, um, for this week?"

Hammond leans back in his chair, his eyebrows raised at the request. "For what purpose?"

To get fucked, she thinks, and blushes. "Ah, well, you permitted Teal'c to go to Chulak."

"That's his home," he reminds her.

"Yes, sir," she says unhappily.

"The gate is not for recreational use, Major."

"No, sir."

"The Tollans haven't invited us to visit them in some time."

"Yes, sir."

"I think you should stop by the infirmary on your way home, Major Carter. Perhaps the, uh, the experience you've undergone has, uh . . . " and even General Hammond runs out of words.

She nods her head and says, "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"I'll tell Doctor Fraiser to expect you."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed, Major."

"Sir." She salutes again, and spins on her heels, humiliated. What the hell had she been thinking? Maybe Janet can come up with an excuse. Some residual trace of whatever they'd been drinking at that three-day party.

Janet is not sympathetic, not that Sam had expected her to be. She takes more blood, peers into Sam's eyes and into her private parts, Sam on her back with her knees in the air, then on her tummy with her butt in the air. Janet is looking for secretions and damage, Sam supposes, but is too embarrassed to ask. Sometimes having your friend as your doctor isn't a good idea.

Sam is, naturally, worried about what Janet will find. Will she become ill? Is she harboring some dreadful bacterium, virus, yeast, or wart that will sprout and plague her for the rest of her life? Has she totally fucked up her sex life, her health, her career? In fact, she will remain perfectly healthy, but poor Sam doesn't know this yet, nor does Janet or she would reassure her. No, they have weeks of worry to get through. Daniel and the colonel found each other, something that Sam is more successful at not thinking about than any possible health issues for herself, and Teal'c's symbiote enhances his immune system, but Sam is just Sam: alone and vulnerable.

Janet lightly smacks her bottom with the latex gloves. "Time and the tests will tell," is all she says, but she pats Sam's shoulder. "Go home, sweetie. Quilt something. Rebuild an engine. Invent a new machine. But stay away from the booze and for god's sake, don't, well, don't sleep with anyone right now. You understand me?"

"Yes, Janet." In case I infect someone, Sam thinks morosely, and jumps off the hospital bed to get dressed. Janet studies her silently. "What?"

"Was it fun?"

Sam looks up in surprise, and suddenly there is her friend Janet, not Doctor Fraiser. She feels herself turn bright red and says, "Oh, _yes_," and the two women begin to laugh.

We'll leave them there, laughing, Janet a bit enviously, Sam ruefully. Daniel is at Jack's home, helping him clean the gutters, planning their week off, glancing flirtatiously at each other. Teal'c is sitting kel-no-reem, having confessed to Master Bra'tac what had happened; Bra'tac is openly envious. Jaffa don't share the same value system as the western military system is forced to adhere to. Or to pretend to adhere to.

Hammond is in his office wondering whether he should contact Sam's father Jacob. He decides against it. Let Sam tell him. Or better, let Sam tell Selmac and Selmac tell Jacob when he's several thousand light-years away. Sometimes Hammond thinks that Selmac is the best thing ever to happen to Jacob Carter.

Cassie is at school, staring at the cute boy two rows ahead of her. Sam still hasn't give her the bracelet, but she fingers her wrist as if she knows the gift is coming. Adolescence is hell on everyone, even alien teenagers.

The week passes eventually. The one constant throughout the galaxy: time passes. Maybe for superior beings like the Asgard or the Ancients it passes differently, but for humans, it's one day at a time and then pretty soon what was so upsetting a week ago is just a little embarrassing and maybe someday will be funny.

"No more parties," Jack has warned Daniel a dozen times during their week off, and Daniel heartily agrees. He has what he wants now; why would he want another party? Jack's warm body next to his is party enough for the rest of his life.

When SG-1 finally meets again, they do so in Teal'c's quarters, where they have a bit of privacy after being eyed individually and collectively as they had passed through the intense security of Cheyenne Mountain. Teal'c lights the candles for them and they all settle on the floor, even Jack, groaning theatrically. Teal'c notices that he and Daniel Jackson sit even closer than they had before, and he approves of this. Being with Bra'tac, discussing human behavior, had helped clear his mind. If he didn't see appropriate signs from O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, he would speak to them both. They'd wasted enough time.

He turns to Samantha Carter, pink from some emotion he surmises is embarrassment. He understands this intellectually, but emotionally finds it superfluous. She is a beautiful woman, very desirable, and as far as he knows, without any outlet for her libido. In Teal'c's opinion, Samantha Carter should be revered. She meets his eyes and smiles, and he feels his face relax as he nods approvingly.

"We will sit kel-no-reem," he tells his teammates. O'Neill grumbles even more, but obeys. When Teal'c sees they are settled down, eyes closed, breathing slowing, he closes his own eyes and reaches for that place that he thinks of as an empty but welcoming room, a home he can always return to. Sanctuary, he thinks. Sanctuary.

Daniel too thinks of sanctuary, but his sanctuary lies in Jack. He smiles as he settles into a kind of meditation, an erotic meditation. The Kama Sutra of O'Neill. Jack sits so close to him that he can feel the heat of Jack's body and he focuses his attention on that, only that. His heart feels large with love, and it beats for Jack, for Jack, for Jack.

Jack thinks of Daniel, but not as his sanctuary. He doesn't have the emotional vocabulary to describe Daniel's presence in his life. The closest he can come is _wife_, and that won't work at all. But the word triggers powerful emotions in Jack, implying to him love and protection and above all a kind of grace, the tender mercies he never expected to receive from anyone ever again.

And Sam tries not to think at all, but to sink into the mindlessness of pure existence, still embarrassed to be seen by her teammates after all they'd done. She finds the effort like herding cats, she thinks ruefully, and sighs again and again. Suddenly, she feels a light touch on her wrist and opens her eyes in surprise. Teal'c has reached out to her.

He looks into her eyes, his face kindly and, she thinks, forgiving. She remembers teasing him, dancing in front of him, and blushes yet again; he shakes his head slightly. To her astonishment, he raises his hand to her face and lightly strokes her flushed cheek, and then places one finger on her lips. Then he withdraws and closes his eyes again.

What just happened? she wonders, but feels released, freed from the tension and even from embarrassment. She closes her eyes again, takes a deep breath, and sinks into a near doze, remembering Teal'c watching her, touching her. Teal'c, she thinks, and it becomes her mantra. Teal'c.

After nearly an hour, Teal'c releases them, and all four feel better, more centered, less awkward. They head to the mess hall, united, and their reputation guarantees no overt teasing or catcalls. They are watched, but they're always watched. They are, after all, SG-1, the flagship of the SGC, the best the earth can offer the stargate, sacrifices to efforts unknown to most of earth's inhabitants.

And we're friends, Sam thinks gratefully, spooning up the blue Jell-O she favors even though it turns her tongue blue. Like the blue sky of that tedious world they had to drill for oil on. Or the blue of Daniel's eyes, watching Jack so carefully. Or the blue of the gauzy blouse worn by the woman who had seduced Sam so effortlessly.

They spend the next few days working on base, catching up on paperwork and news, meeting with other SG teams, and pretty soon things are back to what passes for normal in the SGC. Sam goes for almost eight hours without remembering what happened, and counts that as a success.

Then they're assigned another mission, and a dull-as-dishwater one at that; more punishment, Sam assumes, and assumes Colonel O'Neill does, too, since he doesn't complain or protest. The four of them stand silently at the foot of the ramp, waiting for the wormhole to engage, Daniel at Jack's left, Sam at Teal'c's right. Please, she thought, not knowing if she was addressing the stargate or some deity, don't let there be a big party on the other side.

Her wish was granted; the mission was as boring as it sounded over the briefing room table: another search for minerals on another empty world. Trees everywhere, big pines, the kind of world that Teal'c had suggested the Goa'uld terraformed, the kind they all were sick of. But at least they were at work, and at least nothing embarrassing could happen.

Famous last words, she told herself, and crossed her fingers. But it was okay. It took nearly a week, but they hiked in, got the samples, and hiked out. Not even the colonel complained, at least, not to Sam. She could hear him at night, talking to Daniel for hours, his and Daniel's voices comforting her.

Teal'c talked to her, too, more than she was accustomed to. It was pleasant, to chat about the day with him, complain about the quality of the rations they carried. Sometimes it occurred to her that he was flirting with her, but she put that out of her mind. She was through with all that. Look where it had gotten her.

Still, he definitely talked to her more, and touched her more, too. Nothing inappropriate, of course; Teal'c wouldn't know how to be inappropriate. But a gentle tap on her shoulder to make a point, or he'd take her elbow when crossing a narrow natural bridge. It was cold on this planet, and they scooted their sleeping bags together, so his bulk and body heat helped keep her warm. She almost suggested they zip their bags together, but was afraid she would embarrass him. But waking up in the middle of the night with his arm around her waist, or crawling back into her sleeping back after her spell at watch, it was wonderful to curl up in his warmth. "Wonderful," she murmured as she drifted into sleep, and in her dreams, he stroked her face, brushing her bangs from her eyes, and solemnly kissed her brow.

The next day she was a little embarrassed by her dreams, but let it go. Surely they were past embarrassment now, after all they'd been through. Besides, she was looking forward to sleeping huddled against him again that night, and embarrassment would only get in the way of the pleasure. In the way of the warmth, I mean, she told herself firmly.

Sam was sure SG-1 was being punished when the next mission was exactly the same. The colonel started to complain again, although not in the general's hearing. That would come with time, she knew. Daniel was still subdued, or no -- not subdued. She studied him curiously as they swung along, ducking the low branches of the pine and fir trees, stepping over fallen logs and scattered branches. Quieter, yes, but radiating a quiet happiness.

He noticed her observation and walked with her all one day, chatting with her, teasing her, her little brother again, and she glowed under his attention. She was always solicitous of him, wanting to protect him; after all, she was military, he was not, but somehow he seemed to have gotten things confused and tried to protect her, although from what she couldn't guess. The exigencies of the universe, maybe. But they'd seen too much together; naivete was no longer possible for either of them. Still, he was a comfort, and he loved her, even after he'd seen her, and she'd seen him, and all that awkward stuff.

So she relaxed even more and joined the colonel in his complaints, taking him aside to ask about presenting a case to the general to return to Tollana. Unfortunately, she still couldn't devise a reason to go and O'Neill wasn't very helpful, despite his interest in getting back to what he considered their real job. "Just give it some time, Major," he advised kindly, his eyes following Daniel as he and Teal'c set up camp. "Hammond'll come around eventually. Better than scrubbing out the toilets."

She had to agree with that and tried to take her CO's advice. When they got back to earth with all their samples, her dad was there and knew about their experience on Planet Party. "Selmac?" she tried, but he just barked, "Don't even," and continued scolding her and anxiously asking after her health while avoiding any specifics. Eventually Selmac took over and let Jacob calm down while she soothed Sam, holding her lovingly.

What a weird life I have, Sam thought, enjoying the cuddling. My dad's inhabited by an alien being and my step-mom's a snake. She started to laugh, and Selmac kissed her and let Jacob return, who kissed her, too. "I should paddle your behind," he murmured, but she could only shake her head in embarrassed amusement

He stayed until SG-1's next mission, smiling goodbye to her as she and her teammates stepped up the ramp. "Try to keep out of trouble, Jack," he told the colonel, who grimaced. "Teal'c, can't you watch those guys a little closer?"

"I will endeavor to do so," he promised, and took Sam by the hand just as they crossed the event horizon, surprising her for seventy-five thousand light-years. Sam wondered what her dad and the general would talk about, and then decided she really didn't want to know.

This was a real first-contact mission, and SG-1 was ready. The MALP and UAV readouts had been studied, mission plans written, scrapped, and re-written. The course had been plotted out, and Daniel was practically running toward the small village located a few miles from the stargate. It was a beautiful place, too, a countryside of rolling hills terraced and cultivated. Daniel said for centuries from the look of it, and she believed it. Almost manicured, as if each bush were individually loved and cared for. Daniel trusted farmers; they didn't like to go to war and risk losing their crops or land.

And the UAV flight had shown people of both genders working the fields, wearing similar clothes, so he reckoned it was an egalitarian society; they wouldn't have to hide Sam, something she dreaded on each first-contact. Why did so many cultures mistreat women? she occasionally raged at Daniel, who smiled weakly at her but had no ready answer. He'd try to divert her instead, and talk about matriarchies and matrilinear societies and once about the historical basis of Amazons until he got embarrassed by the missing breast thing. That made Sam laugh until she cried and until he gave up and laughed, too.

This is how we should study Samantha Carter: working as part of a team, prepped and ready for any contingency, approaching that wonderful moment of first contact, when Daniel would step forth, hand raised, smile on his face but not showing too many teeth, and announce them as peaceful explorers. They stride along, four unusually beautiful people, strong, intelligent, energetic, enthusiastic, and hard-working. The very best earth has to offer, and they know it, they revel in that fact, even Teal'c, who technically isn't from earth at all.

"Hello!" Daniel calls out to the first people they see, standing with hoes in their hands, the smell of tomatoes rising in the warm air. The natives raise their heads and stare at the splendid people marching toward them, practically glowing in the sunshine. Gods and a goddess, Sam thinks proudly; we ride lightning bolts across the galaxy, drawing displaced humans together, back into the fold, for the natives are clearly human.

A good mission, she thinks their last night there, lying under the strange stars, a fire crackling although it was warm enough without it. Daniel had fixed them tea, a new kind, something called Mariage Freres, and they'd all liked it, even the colonel, and Sam had shared out her stash of PMS chocolate to celebrate success. She is happy at this moment, lying between Teal'c and Daniel, the colonel sitting up and poking at the fire. She should be sleeping; she has third watch, the worst watch, but she's content to lie there listening to Daniel's soft snores. She watches O'Neill watch him fondly, shaking his head when Daniel snorts and flops onto his stomach, still sound asleep. Teal'c is utterly silent when he sleeps yet manages to project a warm ambience she finds hypnotically comforting. It's strongest when they share a tent; almost a scent, delicate and spicy, but out in the open, she can still feel him. Some kind of synesthesic combination of sensation, sound, and smell that dances along her skin. She rolls onto her back and sighs. No moon here; the villagers told Daniel that it had exploded in the very long ago. Teal'c speculated that the Goa'uld who'd brought them here had been killed in some violent attack they'd witnessed; certainly, no Goa'uld had visited here in centuries if not millennia. Almost all trace of them were gone, and even the stories about them were distorted. Disbelieved.

But they'd heard of their home world, of the Tau'ri, and called the colonel and Daniel "brother" and Teal'c "uncle." Sam was treated respectfully and given no nickname, or none she heard. She'd torture it out of Daniel when they got back, she promised herself, smiling, and rolled again.

"Can you not sleep, Major Carter?" Teal'c asked her softly.

"Sorry, sorry," she whispered back. "Didn't mean to keep you awake."

"I have not yet slept. Would you like more of Daniel Jackson's tea?"

"No, thank you. I'll sleep now. Just a little wound up about the mission."

"Of course. It has been a most productive experience here, has it not."

"It has, Teal'c. I feel like we're doing our job again."

He nodded, and she saw in the pale flicker of the fire that he was smiling gently at her. Impulsively, she reached out and took his hand; he tightened his fingers around hers and she sighed happily. "Go to sleep, Major Carter," he breathed, and she did.

The next day the colonel and Daniel promised the villagers that they and others from the SGC would return to establish trade, and left the gifts that Daniel had over the years packed as part of his kit. Special foods, pretty pottery made by a small collective in Colorado Springs, picture books of earth. These were well received, and they were kissed by the entire town, Sam thought, hugging yet another villager before waving goodbye and returning to the stargate.

"When we return to earth," Teal'c said softly to her as they followed the colonel and Daniel back, "will you sit kel-no-reem with me?"

This time she didn't hesitate at all, but smiled up at him. "I'd love to," she said honestly, not remembering earlier promises made and carelessly broken. They smiled at each other, and turned to wave at the villagers following them.

This time when she remembered her promise to Teal'c, she went to his quarters, knocking quietly on his door, wondering if he'd forgotten and had sloped off with the colonel or Daniel for another round of Jell-O wrestling. But he opened the door to her and his face relaxed at the sight of her.

"Welcome," he said, and she entered, feeling, as she always did, that she'd stepped onto Chulak. The room's colors were strange, muted browns and oranges, with a large wall hanging depicting some ritual between four people, rather Egyptian, she thought. And everywhere candles burned: on the floor, in saucers and holders, on stands, in sconces, the entire room shimmering in their light. And Teal'c, too, gleaming and burnished in the trembling light.

"Will you sit, Major Carter?" He gestured to the floor, where an afghan and pillows were arranged. They sat opposite one another, looking over several candles. The air smelled sweet and strangely fresh, even though they were deep in the earth. She felt herself relaxing, and smiled at him. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for asking me."

"You will meditate with me?"

She nodded, and then closed her eyes, crossing her long legs, resting a hand on each foot. She took a deep breath, and then another, and then listened. He was utterly silent. She couldn't even hear him breathe. Just the tiny whisper of the candles as they burned, an occasional sizzle, and her own heartbeat in her ears.

Her nose itched, and she scratched it. Her shoulder itched, and she twisted to reach it, rubbing irritably. Then her scalp itched and she sighed. She opened her eyes to find Teal'c watching her.

"You are not settling into your meditation this time."

"No, I'm sorry, Teal'c. I don't know what's wrong. I feel -- restless, I guess." She scratched her scalp again, enjoying the sensation. Maybe she should schedule a massage?

"Perhaps we should engage in other behavior?"

She grinned at him; why did his innocent suggestion sound so lascivious? And then she caught a gleam from his eye and wondered how innocent his suggestion was. She closed her mouth, swallowing her reply, and studied him.

A very handsome man. Taller than she was, and powerfully built. A Jaffa and therefore a man of great honor, someone she could trust with her life. A teammate, she reminded herself, but at least not her CO, and certainly not a substitute little brother. A widower now, with a nearly-adult child.

She remembered holding his hand the previous night, and how comforting she had always found his presence. She remembered that cold planet and the nights she had lain in his embrace, warm and safe. She remembered him dressing her after the disaster on Planet Party, unembarrassed and reassuring. She remembered the many kindnesses he had shown her, the steady loyalty.

She swallowed, and watched him watch her throat. When she took a deep breath, his eyes closed, and when he opened them again, she reached out her hand. "Teal'c?" she asked, and he smiled tentatively, taking her proffered hand and drawing her to him. She went willingly, putting her arms around his big shoulders. "What's happening?" she whispered.

"Whatever you want, Samantha Carter," he said in a soft rumble, and she thought of her fiance Jonas, of the colonel, of the woman on Planet Party, of Narim and Martouf. He waited patiently, and she wondered how long he had been waiting.

"My choice?" she asked, and he nodded. She leaned up and lightly kissed him, paused, and then kissed him again, a little more insistently.

"You must be sure, Samantha Carter. I do not love lightly."

Love. Tears came to her eyes. "You love me," she told him with certainty.

"You know that I do. That I have for many years."

"Oh my god, Teal'c. I've been an idiot."

His smile gleamed in the candlelight. "Never an idiot, Samantha Carter. That you could not be."

"Oh, Teal'c, I -- I . . ." She what? She didn't know. Everything was happening too fast, even though it had been happening for years. She didn't know whether to run away, laugh, weep, or fuck him. She took another deep breath, and smelled that soft comforting scent she'd never been able to identify. This was Teal'c, with whom she'd shared a tent for years. He'd seen Narim fall in love with her, had watched her kill Martouf, had observed her ridiculous infatuation with the colonel, and still he'd waited for her to figure it out.

"I'm sorry," she said, and kissed him. This time he kissed her back, and she fell into their kisses, pressing against him, wrapping her long legs around his hips until she sat in his lap. Her breasts felt swollen and sensitive, and she could feel his erection pressing into her. She gave an experimental wiggle and he groaned into her mouth.

Would she take him as a lover? Would they spend the rest of her life together, Teal'c watching her age as he remained ageless? Would O'Neill and Daniel dance at their wedding, would Ry'ac grow to love her, would her father and Mark approve, would the team be broken up because of them, would the world end because of them?

She doesn't know, she doesn't care, she just wants to kiss and be held and touched and, frankly, she wants to be fucked. She hitches forward in his lap, wrapping her legs more tightly around him, and rubs against him and they gasp. "Samantha, Samantha," he moans, and she kisses her name from his lips as he lays her down tenderly, staring into her face. "Finally," he whispers, and begins to undress her.

"Yes," she whispers, touching him back. Yes, she desires him, yes, she loves him, yes, she will stay with him. This time, Sam is getting it right, she knows. She's fallen in love with the right one this time. The universe has forgiven her idiocies and tunnel vision, her misadventures and misalliances, and revealed to her with stunning clarity who and what she wanted. "Oh," she cries as he takes her breast in hand and begins to suck her nipple, premenstrually tender. His hands are warm and gentle, but his body is hard and insistent, and she opens to him as the stargate opened to Daniel, offering the universe to him, offering her universe to Teal'c, and he offers the same to her, and she takes it, she takes him, she takes him into her body and fucks herself on him, watching his face glaze with pleasure. From deep within her brain, she feels Jolinar's approving murmur and realizes she has what Jolinar had. "I love you," she whispers, and he comes fiercely inside her, both of them shuddering, before he slides out of her and down her body, to eat her into a powerful orgasm of her own.

The first of many. It is appropriate to leave them there, sprawled on the floor of Teal'c's quarters; it's none of our business, after all. Sam has found what she wanted. Teal'c had to work hard to seduce her, but he succeeded and rejoices in her body and in her love, and he will care for her, we know, with tender respect and fierce possessiveness that will sometimes irritate her but mostly bring her pride, in herself and in him. What else could we wish for her? What else could Samantha Carter desire? She is loved. Teal'c loves her.


End file.
